The Printed Circuit Board (“PCB”) is the standard for precisely controlling the layout of electrical conductors, components and electro-mechanical connectors within two and three-dimensional space. The PCB allows for the creation of a network of parts and conductors in a wide variety of orientations and has been used in countless electrical products for many years.
The PCB is essentially the fundamental building block for distributing electricity within physical space. While many designs do not require more than a single PCB to achieve their intended goals, it is necessary in some circumstances to utilize more than a single PCB to create a particular physical arrangement of electricity, electrical components and materials within space. When two or more PCBs are used to comprise a single electrical circuit, it is often necessary to electrically couple multiple isolated electrical regions between PCBs.
Previous designs have featured a myriad of electrical connectors that can be soldered to the PCBs. PCBs are coupled—electrically, mechanically or both—by connectors. Screw terminals, terminal blocks, and male/female socket connections are amongst the standard connector types. The most basic way of connecting two PCBs together is to solder one or more conductor to each PCB. The PCBs can also be connected to each other by mechanically attaching one or more shared conductor to both by wrapping a conductive wire or material around a screw, post, crimp or other physical element that is itself electrically and mechanically attached to the PCB. Bus bars (usually a solid piece of conductive material) are also used to attach multiple PCBs together by screwing the PCBs to it or vice versa.
In designing different electrical connectors, the primary considerations are the size of the mechanical junction (the overall surface area on a molecular scale) and the conductivity of the surface in contact. When joining two relatively rigid elements (such as two PCBs) in a way that allows the two elements to move with respect to each other, prior approaches have relied upon spring pins, wiping mechanical elements such as brushes or graphite contacts backed by springs, or plug and socket type connections, where one part of the connector fits inside another. Many of these designs utilize a springing action as well to maintain surface area in spite of mechanical variability (vibration).
All of these methods have their strengths and weaknesses. Some of them are more sturdy and reliable than others, some of them are permanent, others removable. These methods and designs, however, do not provide an easy way of allowing two PCBs or more to be movable between different orientations with respect to one another while remaining in electrical contact in a variety of orientations. In fact, many of these designs only permit the connection of two circuit boards in a single orientation (i.e. fixed with respect to each other). Other designs that do permit the circuit boards to adopt different positions with respect to one another are complex and expensive to manufacture and assemble. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a simple, efficient, and cost-effective connector that permits two or more printed circuit boards to be electrically connected in wide variety of positions with respect to one another.